Manga Review: Heroine Shikkaku

Heroine Shikkaku, there is so much to say about this manga. So I'm going to split my review into two parts. A short summary, a spoiler-free TL;DR and then a spoiler-laden full review and discussion.


SUMMARY

Matsuzaki Hatori sees life as a story book in this comedic shoujo manga by Koda Momoko. Of course, she sees herself as the heroine of the story; there are the supporting characters, like her best friend Nakajima; and then there's Terasaka Rita, her childhood friend and the hero to her heroine. Hatori is so sure she is Rita's heroine that she doesn't even bother to confess her long-held feelings. Rita is constantly in and out of short relationships, and she is happy to wait until he is ready for a long-term relationship and realizes she has been the one constant thing in his life.

However, something happens, and the future she has been so sure of is suddenly put into jeopardy. Will she end up with Rita? Or will her love remain unrequited?


TL;DR

There is a lot of good and bad in this manga, but more good than bad and so overall I think that it is worth a read. Hatori is one of the most interesting female leads I have seen in a long time. She continuously surprised me with her behaviour and the things she said, which was a really nice change to the simpering or stoic romantic leads I usually see. If you're not offended by a little swearing, then you'll definitely enjoy the refreshing change this manga brings.

The story itself is full of the usual romance cliches of unrequited love, miscommunication, rivals, jealousy and so on, but I definitely feel like this manga sets itself apart from others I've read with similar themes. I've read so many that some have merged together, but not Heroine Shikkaku.

The only negative thing I can talk about without giving away spoilers is the general admission that as the manga progresses, it gets more and more typical of the shoujo romance genre and loses some of its individuality and realism. Also, behaviours and reactions of the characters become a bit wishy washy or extreme, and the ending comes about rather abruptly. I have read some reviews and comments of this manga, and people seem split down the middle with how happy they felt about who Hatori ends up with (because you know with this kind of manga she is going to end up with someone).

Anyway, if you haven't read the manga yet and want to without knowing what happens, STOP HERE! From here on in, spoilers galore.

FULL REVIEW

The best way to give a review of the story and plot is to review the characters, because this story is so character driven.

As I said, I love Hatori for how different she is from the usual female lead of a shoujo manga. She is portrayed as an attractive and confident heroine, but sometimes her confidence will border on serious arrogance. She has a lot of familiar flaws which are presented really uniquely, for example she is drawn into bad-mouthing the unpopular Adachi, her love rival, when other girls take offense to her dating the popular Rita. However, when she looks in the bathroom mirror and sees how ugly her "reflection" is as she insults Adachi, she realizes what a terrible thing she is doing and stops.

She also has her vulnerable moments where I really feel for her, like when she finally confesses to Rita with the tiniest hope that he may return her feelings, even though he has made it clear he has never considered her in a romantic way.

I also love how the mangaka, Koda Momoko, has drawn Hatori. Most of the time she is drawn as a very cute and feminine girl. And then during moments when Hatori is completely taken aback, shocked, or horrified, she is drawn like so:

It is really refreshing to see a shoujo manga where the mangaka has not been afraid to take a pretty character and draw her like, well, the above. And it's also refreshing to see a female lead whose character flaws aren't explained away into acceptability. Her friends don't make excuses for her, and when she tries at one point to be more like the pure kind-hearted Adachi it backfires and she just ends up seeming incredibly strange. This is just how she is. An imperfect heroine.

However, there is also, unfortunately, a few things that I take issue with when it comes to Hatori. She is in love with Rita for five years, and fights for him when he starts to date Adachi. However, when she is forced to give up on Rita and Hiromitsu Kousuke (an arrogant playboy) comes into the picture, she becomes so wishy washy when it comes to her feelings. I understand that she is trying to convince herself that she now likes Hiromitsu and not Rita to get over her feelings for the latter, but the way she insists so quickly that she loves him and no longer cares for her past love completely irks me. Compared to some other mangas I know and admire which deal with the same situation, her feelings for her new boyfriend seemed so superficial I never truly believed she had come to love Hiromitsu even towards the end. Which is a shame because I get the feeling that the mangaka was trying to show that a part of her did love Hiromitsu. Ao Haru Ride has the same kind of situation but it is dealt much more realistically and the heroine's feelings always come across as genuine.

Rita, the male lead, is a great character. It was a nice twist to see a love interest who, when confronted with the heroine's feelings, flatly rejects them because he genuinely doesn't think of her that way. The usual trend is for the male lead to suddenly consider the change in the relationship and ultimately realize that he has loved his childhood friend all along, but Rita doesn't do this. His girlfriend Adachi is an incredibly lovely girl, genuine, honest, and kind, and he can recognize he has a good thing with her.

When romantic feelings for Hatori start to grow, they are new feelings, not feelings from long ago unrealized until later. The mangaka sets up the events for the change in feeling well too. Rita has issues with abandonment and Adachi's willingness to leave on a three month long trip without telling him or considering him until all the plans are made start to stir these issues in their relationship. Additionally, Hatori purposefully doesn't see Rita over a summer break in order to make him miss her presence, and then she shows him her calendar of their time spent apart where everyday is marked with how she has missed Rita. It not only makes him realize she has always been a constant presence in his life, it shows him that she genuinely always wants to be with him and being away from him is a struggle, unlike Adachi who functions very well away from him.

This doesn't exactly make Hatori a great role model for young women by suggesting that her life completely revolves around him and that spending time away from him is absolutely miserable. But I understand the premise that it is supposed to prove to the boy with abandonment issues that there is one girl he can put his trust in to not leave him and who will always keep him in her consideration.

I really like Rita as the male lead. I like how he eventually struggles between fighting for Hatori and supporting her happiness as she dates another guy. I wish we had seen a little more angst as he worked out his feelings for Adachi and Hatori, and I wish he was a little more stern with his childhood friend, especially in her more ridiculous moments, but I think that if there is someone who can handle Hatori, it's him.

Poor old Hiromistu Kousuke. He wasn't quite given the roundness of character that the other characters had. Of them all, he is probably the most typical shoujo character in the manga: confident playboy meets erratic heroine; likes that she is different than the other girls he plays with; pursues her and leaves behind all his other flings; becomes more serious and does his best to be patient as her heart struggles to leave her past love behind; ultimately loses out on the girl and does so graciously.

To be fair to him, his outro in the manga was pretty great. He refuses to side with Hatori who is yet again being mean and unfair towards a girl she is jealous of, which causes him to call off their relationship because she demands unwavering support even when what she is doing and saying is wrong. Good for you boy!

Because there is a lot of good in Hatori, it is understandable when he decides he wants them to start over and they have one last brief shot at the relationship before she realizes she can't do it and really loves Rita after all. I wish he had been a little more upset when it ultimately doesn't work out, but all the way through the mangaka gives us small signs that while he definitely cares about Hatori, he also seems to enjoy the relationship mostly because she amuses him in a life he otherwise finds kind of dull. Therefore his gracious parting with her doesn't seem too far-fetched.

I think there was so much more that could have been done with his character, and I'm left with the feeling that he was maybe only a step above being a simple convenience character for providing another obstacle between Rita and Hatori.

Adachi.... oh Adachi.

Yes, these pictures are both of Adachi. I guess it makes a lot of sense that they look so different because her personality does a complete about-face. Adachi with the short bob is a girl that I liked a lot. As I said she is genuinely nice, kind, and caring of others. She insists that she wouldn't resent Hatori if Rita should begin to like her instead because that would be his choice. I definitely understand this point of view, but I wish that it stemmed from an inner strength instead of a lack of confidence. Other than this, I don't have much to complain about the early Adachi.

But the later Adachi? HOLY CRAP WHAT HAPPENED? So a popular boy breaks up with an unpopular girl and this turns her into a slutty glutton for punishment? What? That's not even the slightest bit realistic. I have the feeling the mangaka wanted to shock the reader with this change, but I feel like it was completely out of place and unnecessary. It did nothing at all to add to or further the plot. I think it's supposed to provide a scenario to make Rita confront his guilt over dumping her, but Adachi hadn't been mentioned for so many chapters I had pretty much forgotten about her, as I'm sure had the other main characters.

This part of the manga was honestly bizarre. I thought that Adachi would eventually grow stronger and happier with herself after the set back of a heartbreak, but instead she became even more pathetic. SADNESS!

Anyway, to conclude. I'm not sure whether it comes across that I have equal love and ire for this manga, but that's really what I feel. I think that Heroine Shikkaku had a lot of potential, and some of it was realized, and some of it wasn't. I still think it's worth reading though, because its good points are really strong. The pace was a little strange, but not wholly unbelievable. The way the manga has been drawn is definitely appealing, and the story started off really strong. I'm interested to check out what else the mangaka has written to see if they were able to capitalize on their strengths.

This could be any girl. Imagine being a heroine of a love story. Hatori also believed that one day she would get married to her childhood friend, Rita. But that's not how the world works! This is a hilarious comedy that honestly paints a painful unrequited love story of this young girl! - See more at: http://www.mangahere.co/manga/heroine_shikkaku/#sthash.LW0lfFmB.dpuf

This could be any girl. Imagine being a heroine of a love story. Hatori also believed that one day she would get married to her childhood friend, Rita. But that's not how the world works! This is a hilarious comedy that honestly paints a painful unrequited love story of this young girl! - See more at: http://www.mangahere.co/manga/heroine_shikkaku/#sthash.LW0lfFmB.dpuf